Digital
Ad to the Future Google revs up AI to rewrite the rules of marketing
MUMBAI: Who needs a crystal ball when your ads can now predict, create and convert, all thanks to AI? At its annual Google Marketing Live event, Google rolled out a wave of AI-powered advertising tools designed to flip the marketing playbook from reactive to proactive. From smarter bidding and creative generation to shoppable TV and AI-driven search ads, the tech giant is giving Indian marketers a suite of tools to anticipate consumer behaviour, not just respond to it.
“The purchase journey isn’t a straight line anymore, it’s a maze of swipes, scrolls and searches,” said Google India MD for digital first businesses Roma Datta Chobey. “Our new launches help brands cut through the chaos, scale creativity, and reach the right people at the right time with precision and impact.”
Here’s what’s turning heads:
Smarter Shopping, Streamlined Selling
● Shoppable CTV lets users buy products right from their smart TVs using QR codes or “send to phone” options.
● Youtube Masthead is now shoppable on mobile, giving brands high-visibility, click-to-cart impact.
● Ads in AI Overviews will soon roll out in India, inserting Search and Shopping ads directly within AI-generated search summaries.
AI-Powered Creativity with “Generated for You”
● Set to launch in Product Studio later this year, this tool will generate images and videos based on product catalogues, trends, and brand identity no design skills required.
Performance Max Retention Only Mode
● In beta in India, this lets brands focus solely on re-engaging existing users. Swiggy tested it and saw a two-thirds reduction in cost for bringing users back to the app.
AI Max for Search
● Now live in India, it’s a one-click booster that learns from your site and existing keywords to serve smarter, more relevant ads. Cashify reported a 15 per cent conversion bump in early trials.
Smart Bidding, Smarter Insights
● A major bidding update now helps brands uncover less obvious conversion paths, with testers reporting an 18 per cent increase in new query categories that convert.
Meridian Gets an Upgrade
● Google’s open-source Marketing Mix Model (MMM) will now include a dynamic scenario planner and more frequent access to key reach/frequency data via API.
AI Agents in Ads & Analytics
● New “agentic” AI tools will soon help with campaign setup, keyword strategy, and performance reporting inside Google Ads and Analytics, using conversational prompts and visuals.
For early adopters like Swiggy, the tools have already shown impact across the funnel from creative acceleration to better cost efficiency and growth in new user cohorts.
As marketers juggle non-linear journeys across screens, platforms and attention spans, Google’s AI arsenal aims to give them not just tools, but an edge where insights spark action, and creativity scales without compromise.
In the race for attention, Google isn’t just offering ads. It’s offering answers.
Digital
OpenAI’s Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele exits with two senior leaders
Trio behind compute push set to join new startup amid leadership reshuffle
SAN FRANCISCO: Peter Hoeschele, a key figure behind OpenAI’s early Stargate data centre initiative, has exited the company, according to a report by The Information.
The departure is part of a broader leadership shift, with two other senior executives, Shamez Hemani and Anuj Saharan, also set to leave in the coming days. All three are expected to join the same new startup, although details about the venture remain under wraps.
The trio played a central role in OpenAI’s Stargate effort, an initiative aimed at building large-scale data centre capacity in-house to reduce reliance on external infrastructure providers. Their exits mark a notable moment for the company’s compute strategy as it continues to scale rapidly.
OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to The Information, “We’re grateful for the contributions Peter, Shamez, and Anuj have made to OpenAI and wish them the very best in what comes next.” The company also pointed to the recent appointment of Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute organisation, signalling continuity in its infrastructure roadmap.
OpenAI has indicated that it does not plan to directly replace Hoeschele’s role, suggesting a possible restructuring of responsibilities within the team.
As competition intensifies in the race to build next-generation AI systems, leadership changes in core infrastructure teams are likely to draw close attention. For now, the spotlight shifts to what this departing trio builds next, and how OpenAI adapts as it scales its ambitions.
